Man's Best Friend
by BlackRose89
Summary: The Maruader's were truly legends of their time. They roamed through Hallowed Hogwarts halls and became the heroes of their generation. The most mysterious, though, was the dark, broodingly beautiful Sirius Black. A series of oneshot songfics that tell th
1. Graduation

**Man's Best Friend**

Written By: Joon

Disclaimer: All characters and references to Harry Potter and everything involving Harry Potter belongs to and is property of JK Rowling and all her assorted people. I am just a broke writer who happens to be a Harry Potter geek.

Summary: A series of songfics, (one-shots) each exploring a different time period in the life and thoughts of Sirius Black.

A/N: I know that Sirius Black is a favorite character among many people (especially girls) but I find that a lot of the stuff written about him tends to get cliché and one-dimensional (I'm not saying there's not good stuff about Sirius Black out there, because there is, but in general) So anyway, I'm trying to be creative with the songs and explore Sirius' character and what makes him who he is, charms, flaws, slight insanity, sexiness and all!

Rated: M, mostly for safety, but there is a lot of language and some non-explicit adult situations

Chapter One: Graduation

Song: Changes by David Bowie

It was a warm summer's afternoon, not that hot, humid horrible kind where sweat drips down everyone's back and the only thing a person can get enough energy to do is sit around and wish he or she was someplace cooler, but the kind where the sun is bright in the sky, the sky is blue and the clouds are puffy, and there is a merciful breeze in the air.

_'And thank God for that' _Sirius thought to himself, because otherwise he didn't think he could bear to sit through this ceremony even without it being a hundred sum-odd degrees outside as it had been for days before. He grinded his teeth for about the millionth time and looked down at his watch, pointedly avoiding looking behind him, where his family sat, Mr. and Mrs. Black at the helm. Sirius had actually been quite stunned that they even showed up for the event, he had been disowned from the family about a year prior when he openly declared love for muggle-borns and Gryffindors alike and moved in with James Potter.

_'In fact,' _he thought to himself, _'They're probably just here for the social aspect of the whole thing.'_ They were Blacks after all, they had reputations to uphold.

Suddenly, the messy-haired, hazel-eyed, gangly kid to the left of him kicked him in the shin, hard, and it was all Sirius could do not to scream, or punch him right in the gut.

"Sorry, mate, McGonogall was giving us looks again."

Sirius quickly focused of the makeshift stage that had been set up and focused on Professor McGonogall, who had now gone back to making her long, rather dull, speech.

_Oh yeah  
Mm  
Still don't know what I was waiting for  
And my time was running wild  
A million dead-end streets and  
Every time I thought I'd got it made  
It seemed the taste was not so sweet_

Sirius suddenly blinked, was the sun playing tricks on him, or was the notoriously strict and unemotional Professor McGonogall crying? He quickly looked down at the grass and scuffed the ground with his brand new, shiny black shoes.

And then James kicked him in the shin again.

"What now?" He hissed, rather loudly.

"Err, well, Lily says to stop scuffing the ground, you're ruining your new shoes."

This time Sirius actually did punch him.

_So I turned myself to face me  
but I've never caught a glimpse  
Of how the others must see the faker  
I'm much too fast to take that test  
_

He had rather tried to put this upcoming day to the back of his mind, but it had lingered there ever since the first day of term. This was supposed to be the culmination of his school years, and somehow this day didn't really mean much of anything to him. Sure, he got a certificate that said he graduated with top grades at the most prestigious magical school in all of Europe, but to him it was just a piece of parchment. It didn't tell the half of his story. It didn't say how he was a Black, and how it took years to get most kids to drop their prejudices against him. It didn't say anything about his memories here, about his three best friends. It didn't say anything about the havoc they wreaked or the fun they had, or the fights they went through. It said he was a Beater on the Quidditch team for six years, but it didn't say that he knew the grim feeling of defeat or the elation of victory. It didn't say that he was the best looking guy on campus, and that he had slept with half the female population and broke more hearts then that. It didn't tell anything of the feeling of dread and guilt when he finally grew up and came to the realization that he had. It was just a crisp piece of official-looking parchment.

And it was the only thing that would matter to other people in his new life.

_Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes  
(turn and face the strain)  
Ch-ch-changes  
Don't want to be a richer man  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes  
(turn and face the strain)  
Ch-ch-changes  
Just gonna have to be a different man  
Time may change me  
But I can't trace time  
_

After what seemed like an eternity of people he didn't care about rambling on about things he didn't care about, Dumbledore finally stood up and Sirius wasn't the only one to give him the heartiest applause yet. He talked for a few moments about memories of the school and how tomorrow would start a new chapter in each of their lives. Sirius rolled his eyes and mentally tried to prepare himself for another long-winded load-of-bullshit about the real world when Dumbledore paused and said,

"But all that doesn't matter now, because before tomorrow comes you still have this one last evening to spend with your friends and your family, being teenagers and not young adults. So I say, tonight is your night, take it and run with it. And as for the rest of your lives, well, as the school motto always states, be sure never to poke a sleeping dragon!"

Sirius laughed, as did those all around him. At least Dumbledore had his priorities straight.

_I watch the ripples change their size  
but never leave the stream  
of warm impermanence  
so the days float through my eyes  
but still the days seem the same_

Another thing Sirius realized he hadn't given any thought to was what the hell he was going to do with his life when he got out of here. James could basically do whatever he wanted, he could always just sit around like a bum and do nothing, he would, after all, eventually inherit a fortune form his parents. Sirius, however, didn't think he'd be inheriting the Black fortune any time soon, seeing as how their sole priority in life was to kill people like him.

He always just kind of assumed that he and James would live in a bachelor pad and just have chicks permanently hanging around to keep them company. But, Lily and James had been getting pretty serious lately, and he doubted Lily would appreciate her boyfriend living in such a way.

Maybe Moony could move in with him. Sirius figured he would probably need to split rent with someone anyway; his family wasn't exactly in the same "class" money wise as the Blacks and the Potters. But he would want to do work all the time, and then Sirius would have to get a job, and that was no fun. He didn't even have the slightest clue what he wanted to do.

_'Maybe I should have paid attention when McGonogall had her Career Consultation with me.'_

_And these children that you spit on  
as they try to change their worlds  
are immune to your consultations  
they're quite aware of what they're going through  
_

This time, the kick-in-the-shin came from the right, and he turned to see Remus anxiously motioning for him to stand up.

Oh. Dumbledore had called his name. He quickly stood up and accepted his degree, shook the Professors hand and smiled. Dumbledore smiled back, and Sirius could've sworn he saw tears in the old man's eyes. He quickly averted his gaze and hurried off the stage and back to his seat.

There were far too many people crying today.

Sirius didn't deal too well with emotion, growing up in a family that thought emotions for the weak. In Hogwarts, he was the school's most gorgeous badass, and badasses were not keen on emotion either.

He supposed what complicated matters was the whole Voldemort deal. People were more prone to crying in general these days, and with all the attacks lately, he supposed it was harder to say good-bye to people you've lived with for the past seven years not knowing if you'll ever see them alive again.

Well. '_If this is what adults have to think about all the time, then I'd rather just stay seventeen forever.'_

_  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes  
(turn and face the strain)  
Ch-ch-changes  
don't tell them to grow up and out of it  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes  
(turn and face the strain)  
Ch-ch-changes  
Where's your shame  
you've left us up to our necks in it  
Time may change me  
But you can't trace time_

Sirius was once again drawn out of his thoughts, but this time it was because the ceremony had ended. People were standing up, stretching out, and going to meet their families. Sirius stood there rather awkwardly as the rest of the Marauder's and Lily and her friends made their way over to their excited and proud relatives. He tried to look haughty and sexy and pretend like he knew exactly what he was doing and wanted to stand there all by himself, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw his family walk determinedly away towards some other pure-blood maniac family and congratulate that family's graduating son or daughter.

It was as if Sirius didn't exist. He was used to such treatment, but in such an obvious moment that was supposed to be shared with the family, he felt more then a little stupid. He knew James' family would never turn him away, but really, he deserved undivided attention from his parents on his graduation day.

"Sirius, you prat, what are you doing standing over there like a moron?" James asked gesturing him impatiently for him to come over. Sirius just stood there, dumbly.

"C'mon, you know perfectly well you're just as much a part of this family as I am."

Seeing that Sirius wasn't moving any time soon, James came over to retrieve him.

"For such a smart kid, you can be a really idiotic git sometimes, you know that? Now listen, we go back to my house for a few hours and do the family thing, and then we head to The Three Broomsticks for the Marauder's hosted Graduation Party, and make sure to flirt lots with Madame Rosemerta, you know if she thinks you're going to marry her she'll give us all the alcohol we'll ever need."

Sirius nodded stupidly, a giddy grin on his face that he wouldn't be caught dead with, with anyone other then James.

_Strange fascination, fascinating me  
Ah changes is taking the pace I'm going through_

It was close to midnight and James and Sirius were sitting in a booth in a small corner of the bar, both on their seventh Fire whiskey each. Sirius had already made out with about five girls, they had already convinced Rosemerta it was alright to go to bed and leave the party to it's own devices, they had already danced with a bunch of girls and made the obligatory congratulatory toast and they had mingled about, as good charming hosts should. Now the few sober people were beginning to take their leave, and those that were not so sober were still partying on their own or passed out on the floor of the bar and James and Sirius had their arms around each other and making ridiculous toasts to each other,

"To Padfoot, the best damn dog around"

"To Prongsie, the vale-fucking-dictorian"

"Padfoot, you throw the best parties"

"Mr. Prongs, I daresay it is all you."

"Let's just say we are both amazing."

"Lily is amazing."

"All hot chicks are amazing, Jamsie."

"You can't seriously be that shallow still"

"I am Siriusly Sirius"

"To Hogwarts!"

"To Dumbledore!"

"Hello boys. Or shall I say 'young men' as everyone who made a speech called you today. Would you like a lemon-drop?" Both boys just stared, completely dumbfounded.

"You should close your mouths. As Professor McGonogall would say, it is very unprofessional to give off the impression of being a fish."

"How'd you…err…why are you…?"

"Well as to how I knew you were here, Mr. Black, I picked up a flyer off the ground after the ceremony that said the infamous Marauders would be holding one last infamous party for all the graduating students."

"Oh." James said, looking rather sheepish at his lack of subtlety.

"And, as to the other question Mr. Black asked, I am here to offer you two, as well as the other two 'Marauders' as you call yourselves, and a few select others, job opportunities."

"Jobs?" Asked Sirius, who now seemed completely distraught.

_Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes_

_(Turn and face the strain)  
Ch-ch-changes  
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes  
(turn and face the strain)  
Ch-ch-changes  
Pretty soon now you're gonna get a little older_

"Yes, Mr. Black, jobs. I know you might not yet have come to this realization, but you cannot get through life with as little effort as you did school." Sirius looked up, deeply offended, but he soon realized there was a twinkle in the old man's eye. He was just teasing.

"Now, I cannot discuss the details here, but as you may imagine, it does involve the current terrorism of the wizarding world." The pair nodded gravely and he continued on,

"I'm sorry to rush you, and given your current...err…state of mind, I wouldn't normally ask you for an answer right away, but this is really a matter that cannot wait."

"I accept," They both said in unison.

"I expected as much, thank you very much, Mr. Black and Mr. Potter, for your courage. You will both be notified of your first meeting shortly, where you will be informed of all that you need to know." They nodded again and Dumbledore turned to go through the door.

"Oh and boys?" Sirius and James, who had been staring into their separate tankards, looked up at the Professor again, "Congratulations."

_Time may change me  
But I can't trace time  
I said that time may change me  
_

_But I can't trace time_

((A/N There is, as of right now, approximately fourteen more of these songfics or "chapters" to this series/story. They are in a completely random order, basically in the order I chose the songs, so there is no timeline here. R&R please! Thanks!))


	2. The Girl

**Man's Best Friend**

Chapter 2

"The Girl"

Song: Mr. Brightside

By: The Killers

It was a cool Saturday evening in the middle of October and the sun was just beginning to make it's descent behind the hilly grounds of Hogwarts when a fifteen-year-old Sirius Black swaggered out of the Forbidden Forest, a cocky grin on his handsome face. He had just finished his day-long detention for…he paused to think about exactly what it was, '_Ah yes, chucking Snivelly into the lake.' _Technically speaking, Sirius hadn't actually pushed Snape into the lake, he had sent a leg-binding curse at him, and it just so happened that he fell backwards, and right behind him was the lake.

Sirius shook his head. Professor McGonogall hadn't seemed to understand his earnest explanation, though. In fact, she said that the jinx made the whole ordeal even worse. _'Oh well'_ he thought to himself, _'it really could have been much worse.' _He had ended up helping Hagrid find unicorns and plucking hairs from their tails to use as rope. According to Hagrid they were very strong and "dead useful."

All in all, Sirius thought he got off very well indeed. He got to spend a day with Hogwarts' version of the Big Friendly Giant and chasing unicorns down in the Forbidden Forest just made it more of an adventure. Sirius liked adventures, and he hadn't been remotely afraid. He was practically invincible for Christ's sakes.

"I'm like, God, or something" Sirius said out loud to himself, smiling broadly as he made his way down the grounds towards the school.

"Not God, Sirius, just a star!" Shouted a laughing female voice. Sirius looked down to see Maddie (who's actually name was Madison) smiling at him.

Maddie was an irresistibly hot Gryffindor sixth year. She had curly strawberry-blonde hair that went down to her shoulder and bounced when she walked, and dark blue eyes that sparkled and shine, and what mattered to Sirius most of all, very womanly curves. She wasn't exactly intelligent, especially not by Marauder standards, but she had a good sense of humor and was, overall, a sweet girl. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that it was James' current girlfriend, Sirius probably would have been hitting on her by now.

Sirius walked over towards where she was standing and hugged her.

"Hey Mad"

"Hey Sirius. You know I have to tell you, the way the sun was hitting you as you walked out of the forest it definitely did make you look like God."

Sirius laughed, by this point it was definitely taking quite a bit of effort to his best friend to not flirt with this girl, who was obviously up for it.

"So, what are you out here for? It's getting late you know, dinner's going to be served soon."

"Yeah, I know, but James said to meet him out here. He said we could have a 'moonlit picnic dinner'. I don't know how he expects to get the food though." Sirius smiled blandly, he knew exactly where Prongs would be getting the food.

"Look, the sun's setting, it's pretty, right?" Maddie asked sweetly, turning towards the skyline.

"Actually, I think it's rather cliché." Sirius stated blankly, making a last-ditch attempt to defer her flirtations with him.

"Oh." They were both silent for a time, making Sirius feel vaguely uncomfortable.

"So um…when's James supposed to be coming?" He asked searching around for something, anything to say.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders, looking disappointed. "He was supposed to be here a while ago." She stared up at Sirius, who, even though he was younger, was about a head taller then the petite girl. Sirius looked back down at her, and felt a stab of pity go through him. She looked completely miserable and he knew she was just completely confused inside. Sirius knew Maddie had always liked the two boys, even when they ere younger and were just friends. As they grew up, though, Sirius and James had become incredibly popular and Maddie had just sort of...drifted out of the picture. By the looks of it, Maddie really liked the both of them, and was probably thrilled when James asked her out. ('_We are gorgeous guys after all'.) _The fact of the matter was, though, that James was madly in love with Lily. He always had been and always would be. Maddie was just one of James' fruitless attempts to get Lily off his mind at worst and at best make her jealous. Sirius knew that even though Maddie wasn't in the class of James and Sirius intellectually, she wasn't stupid either, and she was probably grasping by now that she was getting used.

All of the sudden, Sirius realized that Maddie had grabbed on to his hand. And Sirius didn't pull away. This girl was hot, and he felt bad, and he was quite sure James wouldn't even notice, never mind care, even if he popped up right now. Then she leaned in and he thought she wanted a hug, and that he was quite willing to give. (_"I'm just helping out a friend.') _This thought comforted his growing worries about betraying his best friend. However, what it turned out she was doing was quite different. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned in towards his face. _'She's trying to kiss me!' _Sirius quickly weighed his options. James would be incredibly pissed off at Sirius if he caught him kissing his girlfriend, even if he didn't care about said girlfriend very much, and Sirius was dead loyal to his friends. On the other hand, Maddie was hot, ready and willing, and James was nowhere in sight. In fact at this point, Sirius was willing to bet he stood the poor girl up.

_'Oh, fuck it' _His mind told him angrily and he put his hand on her cheek and put her mouth gently on his.

_And I've been doing just fine_

_Gotta gotta be down_

_Because I want it all_

_'Hmm. This is nice. She's a good kisser.' _Sirius thought to himself as he licked her soft lips and she opened her mouth and deepened the kiss.

Madison put her arms around Sirius' neck and pulled him closer to her, and he didn't object. He was starting to breathe heavy and his pulse quickened. He wasn't even aware of anything anymore except her, and only her.

_'God, she's gorgeous,' _He thought to himself. Eventually, Maddie pulled softly away and smiled at him, leaving her arms around his neck.

He smiled back, a charming, sexy grin that made all girls melt and he kissed her cheek sweetly and ran his hand over her hair.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Sirius asked her hoarsely. She just smiled and snuggled against his arms.

Sirius was quite content like this, but suddenly he saw James exiting the castle, looking rather harried, and was all-out sprinting towards the pair. He quickly pulled away from Maddie and she looked at him hurt and confused. Sirius spun her around and she went a brilliant shade of red and took a step away from him.

"H-hi James" she stammered, and Sirius gave a hollow smile.

_It started out with a kiss_

_How did it end up like this?_

Sirius found his voice and quickly said, "I was just coming back from detention and she was waiting for you so I decided to keep her company while she waited." AS he said this he felt a stab of guilt go through him. Sure, he lied all the time, and it usually came very easily to him, but this was his best friend he was lying to, and he definitely did not like to do that.

But James didn't seem to realize the conflicting emotions inside Sirius. In fact, Sirius didn't even think James heard a word he said. His friend looked incredibly flustered and was profusely apologizing to Madison.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, oh, yes, thanks, Sirius."

_It was only a kiss_

_It was only a kiss_

"No problem, Prongs ol' buddy," Sirius said in a falsely cheerful voice. He clapped James on the back, gave Maddie a wave and headed back towards the castle.

As he was walking back to the Common Room he realized that he could not get the damn girl out of his head. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he knocked into a tiny first year girl, who dropped all her books and blushed as she got down on the ground to pick them up.

Sirius quickly bent down and helped her pick up her things.

"Thanks," she said shyly, "My name's Emily." Sirius nodded, he wasn't even paying the slightest bit of attention, and he quickly stood up and walked away. He was so distracted he even forgot to swagger in that "I'm hot and I know it" kind of way.

_Now I'm falling asleep_

_And she's calling a cab_

_While he's having a smoke_

_And she's taking the drag_

'_She's so pretty, the way her hair falls down around her face, and her skin is so soft.' _He was so absorbed he hadn't realized he'd reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" She asked and he told her, and made his way into the common room, running his hand through his hair slowly.

He suddenly felt the urge to go over to the window and see what the couple was doing.

_'You can't do that, that's your best mate'_

_"Yeah, and my best mate's using Maddie'_

Wait. Since when did he care? Besides, that was like the whale calling the rhinoceros fat. He used girls all the time. For entirely different reasons, he mused, but still.

Against all that his head had told him, he strode over to the window.

_Now they're going to bed_

_And my stomach is sick_

_And it's all in my head_

_But she's touching his chest now_

What he saw made a lump form in his throat. They had apparently finished eating, because James had put the picnic basket aside, and they were laying on the red and white checked blanket, Madison's head on James' chest and James was absentmindedly stroking her cheek.

Sirius couldn't take this anymore, but yet he couldn't seem to look away. Finally, he managed to tear his eyes away from the window, and he pounded up the stairs into his dorm and slammed the door behind him.

_He takes off her dress now_

_Let me go_

_And I just can't look_

_It's killing me_

_And taking control_

He threw himself onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He put his hands up to his face and suddenly realized it was wet. Was he…crying? No, it couldn't be. Sirius never cried. Well, not since he was seven and Regulus broke Sirius' toy broomstick and then his mother had grounded him, Sirius, because he should have been watching his younger brother better.

Why was he crying? It couldn't be that he actually had feelings about this girl? No, no, that was impossible. Sirius Black was too much of a rebel to become attached to girls. He was probably just upset because James had the opportunity to get somethin' tonight and he probably wouldn't take it, while it could be Sirius, and he definitely would not have turned such an opportunity down.

Yes that had to be it.

But then why the hell was he still crying?

_Jealousy_

_Turning saints into the sea_

_Turning through sick lullaby_

Sirius pretended to have been asleep when James strode into. He grunted in reply when James punched him in the gut.

"Oy, Padfoot, get up mate, it's Saturday night at nine o'clock and here you are sleeping. The night is still young and so are we, it would be a shame to waste such a perfect party opportunity."

Sirius rolled over on his back and looked at James. "I'm not really in the mood tonight, I'm kind of tired."

James looked shocked. Sirius watched as he racked through his brains to see why his womanizing, partying best friend was suddenly too tired to go out on a Saturday night.

"You get another Howler from your Mum?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered, relieved that James' excuse made sense.

"All right, then I'll stay here with you. Moony says we should get some rest anyway, we have a big exam coming up Monday." He paused, "Moony sounds a bit like my mum at times." Sirius laughed at this, it was true; Remus did often remind him of Mrs. Potter, but quickly his mind went back to Maddie.

"How'd tonight go, anyway?"

"Oh. It was pretty good, she seemed kind of distant with me at first, I guess because I was so late, but by the end everything seemed good…not nearly as amazing as Lily, though," he added as an afterthought and Sirius winced as though he had been punched again.

"Listen, Prongs, I'm gonna turn in now, alright?" James nodded and said,

"Sure Padfoot, listen, your Mum's a pure-blood maniac, don't let her get to you alright?"

"What? Oh yeah, right. I won't. Thanks mate."

"Anytime."

_Joking on your alibi_

_But it's just the price I pay_

_Destiny is calling me_

Sirius groaned and suddenly realized what it was like to have feelings for a girl. It made him sick, really, and he couldn't believe James went through this torture since, well, forever, with Lily. It was quite disturbing, really, that he had no control over this emotion at all. He was a badass, badasses were supposed to use girls for only one thing: sex. Ergo, he would just have to force himself to control this emotion too, and destroy it. He had managed to control other emotions before; this one would be no different.

Really. He was a rebel, he liked to pull pranks, jinx Snivelly, go out after hours, wander the grounds, drink, play Quidditch, flirt with and charm multiple girls into his bed, party, and he was also one of the smartest kids in his year. Somehow, most of these factors landed him in detention a lot too. He just didn't have time to care about a girl. He was too busy being bad.

And with that last thought he nodded triumphantly to himself, put any thoughts about Maddie out of his head, rolled over and went to sleep.

_Open up my eager eyes_

_I'm Mr. Brightside_


	3. A Werewolf Mistake

**Man's Best Friend**

Chapter Three:

A Werewolf Mistake

Song:

"The Scientist"

By: Coldplay

The fifth year's Gryffindor dorm was a huge mess. One couldn't even walk in without tripped over something. There were clothes, socks, and robes spewed about the floor, books piled haphazardly on night tables under alarm clocks, wands, and assorted quills. The four poster-beds looked regal with their red-and-gold sheet sets but the curtains were a mess and the beds unmade. Shoved in a corner were two big boxes and an old trunk. The boxes said "Zonkos" and "Honeydukes" on them, respectively, and the trunk, well nobody knew what was in there except the occupants of the dorm, and the occupants of the dorm had no intention of telling anybody. All in all it looked like a hurricane had passed through this room, and it was abandoned like there had been one too.

All except for one sixteen-year-old boy with elegant black hair and a handsome, aristocratic olive-colored face. He laid in the wide windowsill on his back his head up against the side of the wall and his knees up in order to fit the entirety of his body into the small space.

A small, haunted grin flitted across his face as he remembered his first year when both he and James were able to fit in this little space and would stay up and talk about Quidditch, hexes, and Defense Against the Dark Arts long after Peter and Remus had gone to sleep on night's when they hadn't felt like going exploring.

They had both grown up so much.

The slight grin went away as quickly as it had came, though, and Sirius sighed and adjusted himself slightly in order to stop the pain that was radiating from his neck in this uncomfortable position.

It was very odd for this dorm to be empty this early on a Saturday morning. It was only nine AM, Sirius reckoned he hadn't seen the light of day this early in the morning on a Saturday since he was ten years old.

Also odd, that Sirius was awake, and not in the company of James Potter or either of the other two cronies that resided in this dorm.

They all most likely hated him now, though.

He was still in his school uniform, save the robes, and his white shirt was wrinkled and his pants dirty and grimy and his tie hung loosely and limply from his neck. However, it seemed like ages ago that he had put his uniform on, fresh and neatly pressed and clean. Even though it had only been twenty-four hours ago, he felt as if years had passed between Friday and Saturday morning.

Sirius rubbed his bloodshot eyes and rolled halfheartedly out of the windowsill. He was not yet ready to face their hurt, angry faces, but what was he going to do? This was not a problem that could be solved by running away from it, or by hexing it into oblivion.

He kicked piles of clothes and other assorted junk aside in search of something to put on his feet. In the process, he ended up kicking a large textbook and screamed and cursed aloud in pain. In fact, he ended up ranting all his insanely angry emotions at the textbook. From the outside, it would probably look as if he'd completely lost his marbles, but there was no one else he could yell at.

He was angry with himself, after all.

Finally, he found some flip-flops and he trudged down to the Common Room and out into the corridors towards the Hospital Wing.

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry_

Sirius ran his hand through his hair anxiously as made his way awkwardly down the hall.

What a great day yesterday had started off as. It was the last day of O.W.L's and after that they'd have two full weeks of term left without having anything to do except prank and party. What a wonderful world it was, indeed.

The last test had gone wonderfully, of course, he hadn't been expecting anything different. He was brilliant, after all.

'_Yeah, brilliant enough to forget it was a full moon and go off and get drunk with James,'_ He thought to himself bitterly and then balled his wand hand up in a fist and slammed it against the brick walls of Hogwarts with a resounding CRACK.

It didn't make him feel any better, though as he contemplated over and over again,

_'How could I have been that stupid?'_

_You don't know how lovely you are_

_I had to find you, tell you I need you_

_Tell you I set you apart_

He had finally made his way to the Hospital Wing and he went to open the door, but then Sirius paused, hand clasped on the doorknob, an uncharacteristic look of sick apprehension on his face.

He really didn't want to have to face one of his best friends after having betrayed them. It was cowardly and wicked and he knew it, but Sirius couldn't seem to wrench that door open. It would mean having to face what he did. It would mean having to look one of his oldest and closest friends in the eye and tell him how much of an asshole he was after spending years trying to get the poor kid to trust him. It would mean he would have to admit what he did was wrong. It would mean having to put himself out there, put his emotions out there and not know what was going to happen. It would mean he would probably have his insides torn to shreds.

It would mean that the infamous Sirius Black, who danced around punishments, charmed his way out of losing points, who always found some way to put the blame on someone else, would have to take responsibility for his actions.

Sirius Black would have to apologize and hope to God it would be enough.

He shook his head…that would require a lot of maturing in a few short moments that he really, really, in his own mind, wasn't ready for.

But, what other choice did he have? None. He fucked up, and now it was time to face the consequences. And with a deep breath, he pushed the door (which seemed unusually heavy) open.

_Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions_

_I'm going back to the start_

"Ah, hello Mr. Black," said Madame Promfrey quietly, "I trust you know where to find him, then?" Sirius nodded mutely and Madame Promfrey nodded curtly and walked quickly away.

Sirius sighed. Word must have gotten around about the incident then. Madame Promfrey was usually so nice and sweet to him, and always had enough time and courtesy to ask how he was. This may have had something to do with his flirtations with her, but he decided to reserve judgment on that. He was just a charming guy, really.

_Flip Flop Flip Flop_, Sirius winced every time the back end of the flip flops (they weren't even his come to think of it, they seemed like James') hit the tiles unnaturally loudly and made a horribly annoying 'thwacking' sound.

"Why the hell is it always so quiet in this place, anyway?" He asked himself angrily.

"Dunno, maybe 'cause there's sick people trying to heal," Came the bitter answer from behind a stark, white curtain.

Sirius winced again, as if the voice had shouted at him, and cautiously pulled back the curtain as if the person was going to rip it out of his hands any second.

Remus Lupin, however, didn't even budge. He sat, tense and upright, on the edge of the bed, his back turned firmly away from Sirius and he was looking intensely out the window.

"Uh…" Sirius rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Really, how did people go about apologizing anyway? It was so…unnatural. "Hey Moony."

Remus didn't even look at him, just heaved a great sigh, as if he knew what Sirius was going to do, but was going to let the both of them suffer through the weirdness anyway,

"What are you doing here, Black?"

Sirius winced again, as if he had been dealt a heavy blow. This was going to be harder then he thought. And to think, Remus was always the "forgiving" type.

Running in circles, coming up tails

Heads on a silence apart

"What's the matter, too much to drink, Padfoot? Hungover after another one of your great adventures with Prongs? You're eyes are bloodshot and you're recoiling at every word I say, Sirius, even though I haven't raised my voice a notch. I've seen you hung over enough times to know the symptoms, so don't even shake your head at me."

"No…but that's not it…it's just…"

"Just what Sirius? You really screwed me over last night, and if it wasn't for James I would probably be in a cell in Azkaban right now, and guess what, it's all your fault. Well no, never mind, don't flatter yourself. It's my fault for not realizing that you were about as trustworthy a friend as fuckin' Snape." He finished his statement just as calmly as he had started it, but the flat, disappointed, bitter tone in his voice hurt Sirius even more then yelling would have. Remus had yelled at him before, and Sirius had easily acquired forgiveness. If Remus had yelled it would have meant there was room for forgiveness. Now he just sounded sad, older even.

Sadder and wiser.

Sirius kicked the nightstand out of exasperation, but then hastily picked it up after it went clattering to the floor.

"Have you run out of people to blame your screw-ups on, then? Regressing to inanimate objects?"

Nobody said it was easy, it's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said the start it would be this hard

Oh take me back to the start

"Listen, Remus, just hear me out okay?"

Lupin didn't make any move to face him but didn't say anything to contradict what Sirius said, so Sirius sat down cautiously on the other side of the bed. Remus still didn't react. Sirius, feeling slightly cheered at this, began to swing his legs over to face Remus, but at that point he grunted something indecipherable, and Sirius, realizing that that was pushing it, quickly sat back-to-back with him again.

"I'm sorry…I could have completely screwed up your whole life with that one little action and I know it. And there are no words on Earth to describe how bad I feel about that, there really aren't. 'Sorry' doesn't even come close, but that's the only word I know of…And I'll understand completely if you never forgive me, or hate me forever, and I know you'll never trust me again, but I just want to explain something to you…so you know it wasn't out of malice or vindictiveness that I did this to you…not to say it makes it any less my fault, it is, all my fault, but God, Remus, I didn't do it to deliberately make a big mess of things for you, I didn't do it to hurt you, I never would do anything to deliberately hurt one of my friends…It's just, well, we had just finished our last O.W.L, that is to say, James and I, and we were both a bit...err…excited, knowing that we both aced it and so we decided to go down to the kitchens and celebrate, ya know? Well, we were going to invite you and Peter but Peter was all holed up in his dorm and was going over the exam, and you were nowhere to be found…you see…" Sirius paused and had the grace to look sheepish and embarrassed "We forgot that tonight was the full moon and you would be in the Hospital Wing getting ready, so anyway, we went down to the kitchens, and we were just kicking around some butterbeers when James asked in jest for some oak-matured mead and firewhiskey. Well, as it turns out…" Here, Sirius inserted a nervous and awkward laugh, "The house-elves do have that stuff, and were more then willing to give us it. So...we…uh, were drinking it, and eating pumpkin pasties and uh…other stuff, I don't really remember what, and to be quite honest, we had much to drink then we should have and James, well, passed out cold eventually. Me being able to hold my liquor better then him, I was just sort of sitting around when Sniv-I mean Snape came sauntering into the room like he was all-powerful God, when quite obviously he is not, but anyway, he noticed James first and then saw me, and the bottle of mulled mead that we had positively drained, and lit up like a kid in a candy store. He was obviously going to report us…but no, he couldn't just stop at that, he started taunting me about my family and all the shit that's simple wrong with my life and how I had to actually mooch off of someone else's parents in order to not be living on the streets and I might have said something back, I don't remember, and then next thing you know he's throwing all these curses at me, and you know, my reaction time isn't as good when I'm drunk off my ass, and well, I got hit by a couple and got totally pissed off. I knew he was going to report us for drinking, and suddenly I remembered you had a full moon. My immediate thought was to help you, but I couldn't rightly change into Aniamgus form with Snape up my ass and me completely wasted. I needed to get out of there somehow and at least sober up to meet you at the Hospital Wing the next morning. But then Snape did something really awful, he cursed Expelliarmus on James, who was as I said passed out, so James sort of like...flew into the wall and it practically cracked his head open. And that's really horrible Remus, even you have to admit it-the most fucking cowardly action I have ever seen in my life, but anyway, he was saying horrible stuff about him and Lily, of all people, who tried to help the goddamn prat, so I just kind of...lost it, and I figured you know...it was be a funny joke if he saw where we actually went off to once a month, scare the pants off of him, maybe shut him up about all our flaws for a while, but...it didn't work out that way…it was stupid of me. Probably the most stupid thing I've ever done in my life…and…

I'm Sorry."

I was just guessing at numbers and figures

Pulling your puzzles apart

"Well at least James had enough common sense to go save me…even whilst hung over and with a slight concussion" Remus said amicably, and this made Sirius feel even worse.

"I know, it was really stupid of me. I just didn't-"

"Think before you acted, Sirius, yes I know" Remus sounded exasperated at this point, "You never did think before you acted and I'm beginning to wonder at this point if you ever will."

"But, Moony...I'm sorry!"

"I KNOW you're sorry, GODDAMNITT!" Remus raised his voice for the first time all morning, and Sirius jumped off the bed in horror, "But sorry isn't always going to cut it." Remus looked up for the first time and saw the look of pure terror on Sirius' face and sighed heavily, before continuing on much more gently and patiently, " Look, Sirius, I know you didn't mean it, I know you wouldn't deliberately try and mess up my life this way, but you did. And for now, sorry is okay because I know you are sorry, and no real big harm was done, Dumbledore said Snape will never say a word and I can stay at school. But really, Sirius, how many more close shaves will there be before someone really does get hurt? Killed? Sent to Azkaban? Expelled? Are you just going to keep at this trail of self and others destruction until something finally gives? Because something's gotta give Sirius and I personally don't want to be the one it gives out on, especially since the majority of the time, it's been me that officially covers your ass. James seemed to take over that position last night, but you can't just permanently rely only our friends to straighten your shit out. You just can't, Sirius."

Questions of science, science and progress

Do not speak as loud as my heart

There was a long pause where neither of the pair said anything, and the amount of tension that had amassed the room left nothing but a horrible buzzing sound between Sirius' ears. After what seemed like ages, or hours at least, Sirius figured that Moony was done with Sirius for the day, and so, he slowly stood up, pulling himself out of the tension-filled trance he was in and walked slowly towards the door. He paused with his hand on the door, unable to bring himself back to the realms of normalcy, where every other student was lazing about in the bright sunshine, with no worries or concerns.

"Sirius…I do forgive you...and I still will be your friend. You just need to grow up, a bit, I think, and realize that there are a lot more dangers then you've realized so far to your reckless behavior."

At that, Sirius became rather angry and walked out the door, slamming it loudly behind him.

Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me

Oh and I rush to the start

'Honestly. As if Remus has any right to judge character. Yes, he's right I shouldn't have done it. But really, I didn't mean to do this to him.' He thought to himself as he stormed down the halls towards his dorm. Privately, he realized this probably would have been easier if Remus hadn't forgiven him right away. It made Remus seem weak; to give his trust back to Sirius so soon after Sirius screwed him over. And as a rule, Sirius hated the weak and the cowardly.

Running in circles, chasing our tails

Coming back as we are

After moodily telling the portrait at Gryffindor tower the password, Sirius went up to his dorm and collapsed onto his four-poster. His sub-conscious mind and his reasonable mind argued back and forth as to whether Remus just said that last bit because he was the most boring spiteful person on Earth, or because he genuinely cared about Sirius and his well being.

'What the hell is everyone's problem anyway? Half the fun of being a teenager is getting to live a little, is it not? I mean, yes, that was over the top and I acknowledge that, but jeez, that speech was reminiscent of a McGonogall lecture!'

He kicked off his flip-flops and situated himself on the bed as if it were a throne and he the king, and furrowed his brows. He really did feel bad about Remus, and there was no doubt he was sorry, it was just…damnitt, being good sounded so boring! He wasn't sure he was ready to give that up just yet. There had to be a way to keep pranking his enemies without hurting his friends…

Nobody said it was easy, Oh it's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard

Sirius sighed. This whole growing up thing really sucked. Why couldn't he just be fourteen again, when pranking Snivelly with minor things was just so much more fun, and exploring the castle was still the biggest adventure he needed, and Quidditch was way more important then hot girls?

Why couldn't life just be **fun **like it used to be, for God's sake?

I'm going back to the start


	4. Parties Are Almost as Much fun as Pranks

**Man's Best Friend**

Chapter 4

"Parties are Almost as Much Fun as Pranks"

Song: Welcome to the Jungle

By: Guns 'n' Roses

There was mounting excitement in the air as Christmas approached. At Hogwarts, the staff and House-Elves were working their very hardest to give the place a properly festive look. Professor McGonogall, though, had been noticing something odd. It seemed to her that the Seventh Years, especially the seventh-year Gryffindors, were a bit…too excited about the oncoming holiday. In fact, they were more excited then the first years, and those hyperactive midgets tended to agitate her much more then Sirius Black at this time of year. Minerva sighed and rolled her eyes remembering today's NEWT Transfiguration class where Sirius had hexed Severus to sing and dance to Christmas Carols…it had taken her nearly fifteen minutes of class time to sort that whole mess out. She supposed she wouldn't have been so annoyed if it weren't for the fact that Sirius was so amazingly intelligent. And he did absolutely no work, he just had it naturally, and although she would never admit it in a lifetime, he was damn charming, too.

And so, one evening after classes had ended, precisely three days before Christmas vacation, Professor McGonogall went to the Headmaster's Office to voice her concerns to Dumbledore. However, he just smiled with those stupid, twinkling eyes of his, and, after offering her a lemon drop, told her,

"I really don't see any real reason for concern, Minerva. If there is something planned, I'm sure it will all be in good fun and jest…yes, I know there have been instances where there has been some real harm done at the hands of our seventh years, four in particular of course, but trust me when I say, one of them has done some much needed growing up and has managed to keep the second one in check throughout the year, and I daresay I am impressed." Professor Dumbledore paused and looked over his glasses at McGonogall to make sure she digested this information properly. Professor McGonogall nodded curtly and signaled for him to continue, "My dear Professor, you must remember what it is like to be young. There are few people in this dangerous world that we live in today who have the right to be innocent and live a little, so I must insist that we let them do that while they still have a chance," Dumbledore smiled a little, "and, as one wise yet very loud and rowdy band once said, 'The kids are alright'."

McGonogall sighed and shook her head in faux exasperation, all the while smiling at Dumbledore's odd interests, "Well, I hope the kids ARE alright, for your sake and mine."

"Oh, not to worry," replied Dumbledore airily, "Whatever happens, they're out of our hair in six months time anyway, and then they'll be unleashed unto the world."

"That is a very frightening thought."

"Indeed. So now, if you don't mind, it is rather late, and an old man needs all the sleep he can get, so I do bid you good-night."

"Goodnight Albus," and Minerva took her leave, slightly reassured, slightly horrified, and slightly confused.

It seemed that was the case every time she sought advice from Albus Dumbledore.

Once safely assured that Minerva had exited the room, Professor Dumbledore pulled out a flier, which was a gaudy shade of gold, and flashed four faces in the background over and over again. Dumbledore chuckled; these four never particularly saw the point in the Golden rule of humility. It read:

Messrs.

Potter, Black, Lupin & Pettigrew

Invite YOU!

(Unless you're a Slytherin, in which case this letter will blow up in your hands and hopefully singe your eyebrows off while it's at it)

To the Christmas Party of the Century!

There will be fun, games,

(And we're not talking about Exploding Snap)

Loud music, and lots of really great…

Party Decorations.

(Did you think we were going to say drinks? Come on, we're not stupid.)

Theme: Summer Wonderland

(It's a play on words for all you imbeciles.)

This theme also means you're supposed to wear summer clothes,

A.K.A: Not a lot of them

Bikinis are welcome!

Time: 10 PM-???

Meet on the Seventh Floor right outside the tapestry of Baranbas

(It's a picture of a ballet-dancing hippo…or some large animal, we can't remember.)

Hosted By: The four most amazing guys in Hogwarts

Hope to see you there!

Dumbeldore's eyes twinkled merrily as he wrote himself a reminder to keep Argus Filch away from the Room of Requirement the night before break began and to "wander" past the room a few times himself during the night just to be sure they weren't doing anything too stupid.

_Welcome to the jungle  
We got fun 'n' games_

"Moony, what are you doing?" Asked a red-faced and out-of-breath Sirius, "We already agreed that this wasn't going to be a 'Remus Lupin type of party.' That means no games of Exploding Snap. We're here to pick up chicks, remember?"

Remus laughed dryly. "Padfoot, sometimes I wonder how you can so grossly underestimate my creativity. I know what this party is all about, and as I've told you multiple times, I've decided that, at seventeen going on eighteen years old, it's time to let loose and have a little fun before we have to graduate and all."

"Well, finally, took you long enough to come around, but I still don't understand why the table and chairs are set up for a game of Exploding Snap."

"I was getting to that, if you'd let me finish," Remus sent death glares towards Sirius as he threw his hands up in an 'I'm innocent' look. "In the world of Muggles it's called 'Strip Poker.' But since most people here don't know how to play poker, I've decided to use the game of Exploding Snap. I've charmed the game so that if you lose a round, instead of it exploding in people's faces, and thereby making said faces unattractive, it forces the loser to part with an item of his or her clothing. I'm hoping that the female population will be in the mood to play, of course, especially since they're supposed to be arriving with little clothing on already."

Sirius smiled broadly and gave Remus a clap on the back, "Moony, I think you just might be a genius."

Remus smiled wryly, "So I've been told."

_We got everything you want  
Honey we know the names_

Sirius stepped back and admired his…well, mostly Remus' and James' work. The Room of Requirement looked as if it were a beach in the Caribbean. There was about an inch of sand covering most of the floor (just enough to be cute, not enough to be annoying) except for one large rectangular area that was obviously a dance floor, made from bamboo. There were palm trees stationed in each corner of the room with little candlelit (the candles were in coconuts) tables for two (also made out of bamboo, the table skirts looking like the skirts of hula dancers.) There was a slightly larger table off to the side that was charmed to look like a real gambling table from the casinos. Steel-drum music floated down from somewhere in the ceiling ('how'd they manage that one?' Sirius wondered) and right, smack in the middle of the dance floor, was Sirius' pride and joy, his own personal work of art. A circular, bamboo bar with stools and palm tress leaves as the ceiling, with real muggle drink mixers and blenders (not that he intended to use those, but it looked cool.) It had taken him the better part of three hours (okay, so he skived off his afternoon classes today, but honestly, who didn't the day before break?) to complete.

At that moment, James, already in board shorts and well, nothing else, strode over to him. "You got the booze?" He asked pointing to the stack of cardboard boxes piled at Sirius' feet.

"Yep, relatively easy trip too, if I do say so myself. Everyone seemed to be in such a good mood, no one noticed I left Hogwarts or wasn't supposed to be in Hogsmeade or anything."

"Awesome," James looked at the clock on the wall and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Guys, I think it's time to open up the doors. Peter, you go to the doors, you'll be the bouncer, stay there for about an hour, no Slytherins or people under fifteen allowed. If you have any problems, just call Sirius or me. After an hour or two, you can close the doors and come in to enjoy the party. Sirius, as we discussed, you're bartender for the night." Remus came over, looking stern, "But our dearest mommy Remmie has informed me that he will only give this party his blessing if we agree on some rules." The trio sighed and rolled their eyes simultaneously at each other, along with an annoyed snarl from Sirius. "You're only allowed to serve alcohol to sixth years and up, fifth years are only allowed butterbeer. If they don't like it, they can get the hell out, they should consider themselves extremely lucky they're even invited. No one is allowed more then five hard drinks" There was another groan from Sirius and Remus interjected,

"Sorry Sirius, but we do have to take some precautions. Besides, with four or five alcoholic beverages in them, most girls will be just drunk enough to agree to almost anything a guy says, but not drunk enough to start puking or anything." Sirius nodded knowledgeably.

"And the bar will be closing after 11:30 to assure everyone has time to at least slightly sober up before the party ends…That all Remus?"

"Yep, you've got the all-clear from me." James and Sirius smiled and yelled simultaneously at Peter, who was hovering near the doors,

"All right, time to open up!" _  
_Peter laughed at the sheer pompousness and ridiculous over-the-top manner of the whole operation, and opened the doors, preparing to be barraged as if he was the bouncer at Studio 54 or something.

_We are the people that can find  
Whatever you may need  
If you got the money honey  
We got your disease  
_

James, playing the role of charming host, welcomed the people as they came in and pointed them towards the bar and the tables. Sirius was all smiles, mixing up drinks and chatting easily with Remus and the girls that came in. Then, suddenly, Lily walked in, or rather, in James' mind, graced him with her presence, in a simple but very pretty green sundress and matching flip-flops. Sirius laughed under his breath and signaled to Remus.

"I think we're going to need you to take over role of 'Host' for the time being" He smiled and pointed towards one of the tables, where James and Lily were sitting, looking pretty cozy. Remus rolled his eyes and smiled, abandoning his Butterbeer for a position just inside the room.

Sirius, scheming in order to help his best friend out with his whole "unrequited love" problem, took two butterbeers and put a shot of vodka in each, and exited the bar area, walking over to Lily and James' table.

"Here you are, one for Prongs, and one for the lady," he said, smiling suavely at them both. James looked up at him curiously and Sirius just winked as Lily took a small, dainty sip and smiled up at him,

"I thought you were supposed to be bartender, tonight, Sirius?"

"Yeah, well, I decided that you two both needed a drink, and seeing as how this was all James' idea and all, I decided he could get special privileges, and of course, this includes his girl as well."

"Excuse me, but I'm not HIS girl, Sirius, darling," Lily said, smiling evilly at him.

"Well, it's close enough at this point," Sirius retorted quickly. Lily blushed and James choked on his Butterbeer. Sirius quickly punched him a few times on the back, at which point Lily burst into laughter.

"Look, Prongsie, I just saved your life, AND I got you two drinks, I think I definitely deserve a sixth Firewhiskey."

"Well, you'll have to talk to Remus about that one, Padfoot, although I wouldn't just now, he's chatting up some cute blonde."

"Hey" said Lily suddenly.

James looked horrified. "Lilykins, darling, I'll always think you're the most gorgeous girl on the face of this planet. She's nothing compared to you!" Sirius started to laugh at this point, which he quickly turned into a hacking cough, so as to avoid a pummeling from James. Ever since James had realized that he wouldn't get Lily like the way he got the rest of his girlfriends (by being arrogant and semi-suave) he had been a bit…anxious to please.

"Wha-? No, I was just going to ask why you four were wearing matching board shorts."

"'Cause we're way cooler then anyone else here," Sirius quipped amicably.

"Well, if you ask me, it looks kind of gay."

"Wha!?" Now both of the boys looked horrified.

Sirius and James immediately both charmed their board shorts so they were different colors and patterns and Lily started laughing again.

"And James, don't ever call me Lilykins again."

"Ok Lilykin-I mean Lily." James sounded completely helpless. Sirius just couldn't contain his amusement at his friend's hopeless plight anymore so he walked away, shoving his fist in his mouth.

"Oh and Sirius?" Lily yelled sweetly at his retreating back.

"Yeah?" Sirius asked, turning around, fist still in mouth.

"I know there's alcohol in here. I'm not stupid."

"And that, Lily darling," Sirius said, pointing his finger at her and walking backwards towards the bar, "is why I never tried to bang you." And then he turned around and started taking orders in the bar again, not waiting to see anyone's reaction.

Sirius was still taking drink orders about a half hour later when he heard Remus' voice, magically amplified,

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, that you have all hopefully gotten your drinks and gotten settled, I think it is time to turn this party up a notch!" He paused, waiting for the cheers from the crowd to die down, "So, Peter, you can close the doors, I think we're filled to capacity, and the dance floor and the gambling table (hosted by me) are officially open!" Sirius felt his bar move off the dance floor and back up against the wall as the lights dimmed and the music switched from breezy Caribbean reggae to loud, pounding popular club and dance songs.

There was a sudden movement as a pack of people made their way towards the dance floor or the table and Sirius smiled, shaking his head.

For someone as shy as Remus, he certainly had some showmen's chauvinistic flair in him. Really, magically levitating Sirius' bar off to the side. That was quite unnecessary.

'But pretty damn impressive' Sirius thought grinning.

_In the jungle  
Welcome to the jungle  
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees  
I wanna watch you bleed_

"Hey there sexy, how come you're not out there dancing?" A sixth year girl asked as she sashayed up to the bar. Sirius paused to give her a once-over before speaking. He was pretty sure he had seen her around before, but she definitely wasn't a Gryffindor or he would have hit on her before now. She was very tall, with very long legs and had skin that was very tan. She had high, model cheekbones, and dark eyes with long, wavy black hair that fell to mid-back. She was wearing a white halter-top and tight, white Capri pants and, for some reason, she had no shoes on. Her skin seemed to glow in contrast to the all-white outfit, which would have done nothing for most of the pale girls of England. Although she wasn't as curvaceous as most of the girls he 'dated' she definitely was hot. He decided in that instant that this chick would be his conquest for the night.

"Well because I'm the designated bartender until 11:30," he said with a cheeky smile, "Would you like a drink?"

The girl checked her watch, and then gave him a coy smile back, "That means you're stuck here for another forty-five minutes. And yes, please, I'd like vodka, on the rocks."

"Ooh, like to live dangerously don't we?"

"No, just like to live. And, guys always get turned on when girls can hold their liquor." She glanced over at Sirius who was now taking a deep gulp out of a Firewhiskey; "Hope you're not supposed to be designated as in sober."

"Nah, I'm allowed five alcoholic drinks just like the rest of the joint. Here you go, one vodka on the rocks. So what's your name, gorgeous?"

"Meliha, and yours?"

"Meliha, exotic, very pretty. And my name's Sirius, Sirius Black."

"Serious, like…Professor McGonogall?" Sirius winced, but tried to hide it with a smile. He hated it when people thought that.

"No, Sirius, like the stars, the constellation."

"Oh, Sirius. A star. Well, that's fitting. Well Sirius, I have to go find my little sister and put her to bed. She's fifteen and I don't need her here at one o'clock in the morning with a bunch of seventeen and eighteen year old guys like you. But, I'll be back, so come find me when your done being bartender, and maybe we can dance or something." She smiled that ultra-cute smile again, and sashayed away.

Sirius realized with a start that had been a statement rather then a question.

_Welcome to the jungle  
We take it day by day  
If you want it you're gonna bleed  
But it's the price you pay_

Things had slowed down at the bar for the moment so Sirius took a moment to get himself another Firewhiskey. After taking a long, deep, gulp from it he leaned up against the bar and observed the goings-on of the place with a sexy, haughty look on his face that told everyone he was way to hot for this joint.

Remus was looking slightly out of his element at the gambling table, but "Strip Snap" seemed to be going quite well (despite Moony's look of slightly dazed and uncomfortable happiness.) And out on the dance floor, were…Sirius smiled, James and Lily.

'Well finally,' he thought to himself before narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Lily seemed to be dancing, err, a little over-exuberantly, and James was looking a little intimidated. 'Hmm…apparently Lily can't hold her liquor very well' Sirius thought, making a note to himself that at the next function, she should not be allowed more then two drinks.

After a while of refilling drinks, whistling to himself, flirting with anything with two legs and a skirt, watching the clock, and just in general being bored, he discovered it was 11:35. Sirius put an amplifying charm on his voice and said, in his charming "Game Show Host" voice,

"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you that the bar will be closing. However, don't hasten to leave just yet, because we've got two more hours left of full-blown partying! The dance floor and gambling table will be open until 1:30, and now, Sirius Black is in the house, so let's get ready to PARTY!" Sirius smiled cockily as a bunch of people cheered and crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest, looking like the complete hunk he knew he was.

After people stopped watching him he dropped his pose and scanned the room. Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed, some people were leaving, looking disappointed and more then a bit disoriented. Some people were only in it for the drinking. Sirius liked to drink, there was no doubt about it, but he was by no means a full-blown alcoholic like some of those people. He liked partying in general, the girls, the dancing, the sheer adrenaline rush that it gave you to know you were doing something completely against the rules just for the hell of it, and, yes, the booze.

His eyes stopped suddenly on the girl he had seen before, and they began to twinkle mischievously. He sauntered over to her, his hands out, in a "what happened?" sort of pose. She looked over to him and giggled at him in a very girl-y way, (she seemed to have let her guard down quite a bit by this point.) Sirius smiled, that was exactly what he had hoped for.

"M'dear lady, I do believe you owe this gentlemen the pleasure of a dance." He took her hand delicately and brought it up to his lips, placing a light, feathery kiss on it. She smiled and said in that high-pitched girly voice,

"The pleasure would be all mine, good sir." And then she started giggling hysterically again, doubling over and clutching herself. Sirius just smiled and waited patiently for her. Eventually they made their way to the dance floor, where a fast-paced techno song was playing, and they both began dancing; Sirius moving just a tiny bit close to her every few seconds. He was well practiced at this game, and he knew his lines and movements perfectly by this point.

"So what year and house are you in?"

"Seventh, and I'm a Ravenclaw, and what about you?"

"Seventh as well, would you look at that coincidence," Sirius smiled charmingly at Meliha, who smiled back, blushing.

"I, however, am a Gryffindor," he added proudly. Meliha nodded and the pair continued to dance through the next couple of songs, which were fast-paced and techno-sounding. Every once in a while, Sirius would ask Meliha a question or comment on how pretty she was, but he made sure not to overdo it. Besides, it was difficult to hear anything over the loud, pounding music.

About a half-hour later, although Sirius wasn't sure, he hadn't looked at the clock since he stopped bar-duty, a slow song came on. 'Finally,' Sirius thought to himself, not for the first time that evening, and gave Meliha a cheeky, toothy grin before pulling her ridiculously close to him in one, fluid motion.

Meliha giggled again and practically fell into his arms, and they began dancing. Sirius was an exceptional dancer, even when smashed. Meliha, on the other hand, wasn't holding up as well, she stumbled a little bit, but at least she wasn't falling completely, or blabbering like a complete idiot.

"You know, darling, with your body up against mine, I can feel all your delicious curves." Meliha giggled slightly but kept her composure,

"And that's about as close as you will get to them, darling," She said, mocking his cheeky smile.

Sirius smiled even more broadly. He enjoyed a challenge.

"Well, we'll just see about that, won't we my dear?" He began to spin Meliha around, and caught her in a dip, which made her giggle even more.

_And you're a very sexy girl  
That's very hard to please  
You can taste the bright lights  
But you won't get them for free_

As soon as the song ended, Meliha began laughing again, looking incredibly flushed. She fanned herself slightly and then smiled brightly at the handsome guy who was still holding onto her, even though a faster song had come on, and people were coming crashing into them, throwing themselves about like the drunken idiots they were.

"You're quite a good dancer Sirius."

"That's not the only thing I'm good at, babe," he said in a husky growl.

Meliha's mouth fell open in delight and shock all at the same time, and Sirius took that opportune moment to kiss her, hard and long on the mouth. Meliha reciprocated and soon they were in a full-blown, hot and heavy make-out session. To avoid getting them knocked over by the intoxicated moshers, Sirius pushed Meliha, rather roughly, into a corner and smiled at her. She smiled back, and he put his mouth on hers again, getting right back to where they were before.

_In the jungle  
Welcome to the jungle  
Feel my, my serpentine  
I, I wanna hear you-scream_

Suddenly, and in a most out-of-character moment, Sirius broke off the kiss with Meliha. He rolled his eyes and sighed, getting prepared to punch the lights out of whomever had just tapped him on the shoulder at such a –crucial- point in his night. He winced at the confused look in Meliha's eyes and held up a finger,

"One second babe, I just have to take care of whatever asshole-"

"Hello Sirius, having a good time then, yes?" said a hassled looking James, with a strained smile and polite voice. Sirius plastered a strained smile on his face as well,

"Well I was, until you interrupted it…" he dropped his voice to a hissing whisper, "This better be damn good, Prongs, if you couldn't tell I'm sort of busy getting into some girls pants." James looked up and gave Meliha a pained smile,

"Yes, right, so I saw, by the way, Padfoot, you might want to take that somewhere a bit more private-"

"Out with it Prongs!" Sirius hissed angrily through barely clenched teeth, balling up his hands into fists. James laughed,

"Alright then, buddy, if you insist. Right, well, Lily here seems to have had a bit too much to drink." Sirius looked next to James and saw for the first time that Lily was curled up in a ball at his feet, sobbing uncontrollably and looking distinctly green-faced in only a bra and panties.

"James, I think I'm going to hurl," Lily whined miserably, tugging at the bottom of his board-shorts.

"Oh, crap."

"Oh, crap is quite right Sirius," said James quickly, looking stressed-out to the point of desperation now.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Sirius asked pointedly.

"I'm going to try and carry her up to Gryffindor Tower. There's a few bathrooms on the way, so worse comes to worse we'll have to make a pit stop, but I'm just telling you so that you know why I've gone missing and all, if you get a chance tell Remus and Pete, I guess I'll just wrap her up in some blankets and put her to sleep on the couch…we still haven't figured out how to get past the charms on the stairs to the girls dormitory…"

"No, no we definitely have not," Sirius interjected morosely. James paused and let out a genuine laugh for the first time in the conversation.

"But anyway, I'm going to need the invisibility cloak so you guys will just have to fend for yourselves, sorry." Sirius nodded curtly and James picked up a sobbing Lily with apparent ease.

"See you tomorrow then, mate, and good luck with that chick."

_Welcome to the jungle  
It gets worse here everyday  
Ya learn ta live like an animal  
In the jungle where we play_

Sirius turned back to Meliha, and he found that a shorter, scrawnier looking guy had grabbed her by the shoulder and was trying, to no avail, to guide her away from the dark corner.

"Hey, take your hands off my girl," Sirius said, anger rising in his chest.

"She's not your girl, she's my girlfriend," the guy shouted back. Sirius' mouth tightened into a straight line almost reminiscent of Professor McGonogall.

"Is this true, Meliha?"

"No!' She shouted desperately, trying to wriggle free of the boy's grip, "I dumped him almost a month ago!"

"Sorry, kid, better luck next time, but for right now, you're going to have to face reality and get your hands off MY girl, before I hex you into next Friday," Sirius said, a sarcastic grin on his face. The boy put his hand in his pocket, as if he was going to fight, but after looking back and forth between the two angry faces, he put his wand away.

"That's a boy, now why don't you just run along, go, scamper, play with some friends or something." Meliha giggled at Sirius' comment and the boy stalked off.

"Well that's better," Sirius said seductively as Meliha pulled him closer to her and they began to kiss again.

_If you got a hunger for what you see  
You'll take it eventually  
You can have anything you want  
But you better not take it from me  
_

"Here, c'mere I want to show you something," Sirius said huskily pulling Meliha out of the corner and towards the exit.

"Hey Remus, it's just you and Pete for close-up tonight!" Sirius yelled, giving his friend a thumbs-up. Remus looked at Sirius, who was dragging the girl across the room, rolled his eyes, and nodded.

"Where are you taking me?" Meliha slurred, looking very confused.

"You'll see, babe, you'll see." Sirius quickly and anxiously popped his head out the door of the Room of Requirement. There was no one there, except he thought he saw the swish of a dark purple robe flash around the corner that could only belong to one man in this whole castle…Sirius shook his head, 'No, it couldn't be.'

After making sure the flash of cloak (and the body inside of it) was one for good, he quickly scattered out of the room, putting his fingers to his lips. Meliha nodded solemnly, and Sirius grabbed her hand and led her slowly out of the room. They were about halfway to his destination when Meliha tripped over her own two feet, wound up on her butt, She giggled madly and Sirius whirled around, shushing her. Meliha got up quickly, and looked as if she were about to cry. Sirius' face softened. "Hey, it's alright, doll face, everything's fine. Here, let me help you, I'm pretty good at playing the hero." He smiled broadly and in one, fluid motion had picked her up and took the two large steps towards the door. Chauvinistic mile firmly in place, he let go of Meliha with one hand, and without even showing any sign of strain or struggle and swung the door open.

"We're in a Broom Closet, Sirius!" Meliha crumpled on the floor and dissolved into a new fit of laughter.

_And when you're high you never  
Ever want to come down, YEAH!_

"Yes we are, honey, sorry I couldn't get a hot bath with rose petals in the water, but you know, short notice and all," He smiled, trying to play it off as a playful joke instead of a sneering condescension. Meliha didn't seem to notice, she just smiled in that hammered sort of way' and Sirius, of course, smiled back.

He stepped back a moment, ran a hand through his hair, (causing Meliha to swoon again,) and took a breath,

"You ready for the experience I'm about to give ya, babe?"

"Of course, Sirius."

_You know where you are  
You're in the jungle baby_

Kissing ensued, on all parts of available skin. When that wasn't enough for either of the two, the completely white outfit came off, as did the board shorts, leaving just a pair of flannel boxers and some lacy white undergarments between them.

Sirius groaned in the back of his throat, "You're so hot, babe, I want you so bad,"

"Mmm, I want you too."

_You're gonna die_

Heavy breathing, more kissing, less clothing, body temperatures rising. This was exactly what Sirius was looking for out of tonight. He smiled to himself, pausing in between a kiss.

This night was perfect.

_In the jungle  
Welcome to the jungle  
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees_

Sirius could feel it, the time was now. He decided to ask her if she wanted this one more time, just to be on the safe side. He didn't need to get accused of raping anyone a mere six months before he graduated. Although his nutty family didn't seem to mind it, to him Azkaban just didn't seem like a good time.

"You want this, babe?" Came a husky voice.

"More than anything," came the whispered reply.

Sirius smiled gratefully, it was good enough for him.

"Then get ready for the best night of your life, doll face."

_In the jungle  
Welcome to the jungle  
Feel my, my serpentine_

"Th-that was amazing," Meliha said lying on the floor of the broom closet, head on top of Sirius' warm stomach.

"Tell me about it," Sirius said, smirking and arching an eyebrow, running his hands through her ebony hair.

Quite suddenly he sat up, and Meliha struggled to not let her head hit the floor.

"Shit. Shitshitshitshit."

"What?" Meliha asked, sounding tired, hung over, and whiny.

"Get the rest of your clothes on, doll face, and do it as quietly and quickly as possible." With that, Sirius fairly fell into his board shorts and put his ear to the door of the closet.

"Damnitt, girl, could you go any faster?" He asked, exasperatedly. Meliha shot a glare his way,

"Maybe if you could tell me what the hell's going on!" Her anger was steely, though muted through clenched teeth.

"It's Filch's cat, he'll be here any minute, that's what the hell's wrong, now come one!" Sirius grabbed her hand and skidded through the door.

"Have a great night hanks for everything, you're hot and so was that back there in the broom closet. Keep in touch, Kay, babe?' He gave her a kiss on the cheek and started to jog off, but stopped, frustrated when he saw the dumbfounded look on Meliha's face.

"You're just going to leave me here?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, a dumbfounded look on his face now too. He couldn't help but think they must look a bit stupid, standing ten yards away with equally dumb looks on their faces, but he brushed it off and gave a half-assed smile.

"Well, what'd you expect, babe? A midnight stroll through the castle while Filch was on our tail?"

"Well, no, but you could at least walk me to my Common Room, to make sure I arrived safely." By this time, her still-drunken voice was becoming quite loud, and Sirius knew (he had experience with this sort of thing,) that he would hear Filch's wheezing breath and overly loud footsteps in about two minutes if he didn't get away from this girl.

"I-I don't even know where your Common Room is," he said lamely, holding up his hands as a peace offering.

"Jeez, and they said you were chivalrous. Guess the sluts didn't know any better and thought you were some damn knight in shining armor or something," Sirius, again, raised his eyebrow, but refrained from pointing out that she had quickly fallen under that spell as well. "Well, have a nice life, Sirius, hope I never see you again, **doll face.**" And with that she stormed away, really loudly.

Sirius sighed; well at least it would make it easier to get back to the Common Room. He would deal with damage control tomorrow, now he had to take advantage of the crazy woman distraction and get back to his dorm without getting caught.

_In the jungle  
Welcome to the jungle  
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees_

A mere five minutes and three secret passages later, Sirius found himself in the Gryffindor Common Room. He was huffing and puffing and out of breath, but he hadn't had any unpleasant visit to Filch's office tonight. He smiled to himself, pleased, and then chuckled when he saw Lily on the couch, wrapped up in blankets, and James nodding off and the chair next to her.

"Well at least I can tell Meliha chivalry isn't dead…she was just looking for the wrong guy."

"Uhwha?" Came James' half-asleep reply.

"Nothin', Jamsie, nothing. C'mon, let's go up to bed, I think Lily will be all right now," Sirius said tiredly, running his hands through his hair again.

"MMph," James rubbed his eyes and shook himself awake, "Alright, I'll be up in a few minutes, I just have to give her a goodnight kiss." Sirius shook his head laughing, and started up the stairs,

"Alright man, alright, but it's your funeral."

_In the jungle  
Welcome to the jungle  
Watch it bring you to your  
It's gonna bring you down_

"Mate, wake up…Padfoot, you're having a nightmare, Padfoot, snap out of it, SIRIUS! WAKE UP!" Sirius woke with a start to James slapping him in the face.

"Mate, what kind of a dream were you having? You were thrashing about and screaming and...crying by the looks of it."

"I don't know I just saw…lots of girls faces…I know them all, but I don't really know how…"

James looked flabbergasted, "You saw girls faces, and you were having that sort of reaction? Were they that ugly?"

"No... no... they were really pretty actually…" Sirius sat up with a start "I screwed them all!"

"What?"

"I screwed all those girls!"

James arched an eyebrow, "Are we talking literally or figuratively?"

"Both." Sirius put his head in his hands, feeling just as confused as James looked.

"Oh…" James looked very confused, disoriented and tired. "Right. Well, just get some sleep. You have quite a bit of alcohol in you."

"Right...yeah, I'm just drunk. That's all. Yeah." Sirius rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, deeply disturbed.

_Ha!_

((A/N: Sorry this chapter was so long in coming. It's been a long year, but I'm still around and I still intend to finish this thing, all fourteen chapters in tact. Hopefully the chapters will come out faster from now on.  Thanks to my reviewer, you helped me to keep working through this chapter even when I wanted to quit))


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